


Quarantined

by 21CenturyNinja



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/21CenturyNinja/pseuds/21CenturyNinja
Summary: It seems like all the world is quarantined, and now the ninja are too! How will they survive being trapped on the Bounty with each other, with no enemy to fight—at least on the outside—and no way to buy any new video games? How will isolation and being left alone with their thoughts affect their relationships, both with each other and with themselves? (Mental health themes)
Relationships: Cole & Zane (Ninjago), Cole/Zane (Ninjago), Nya & Jay Walker, Nya/Jay Walker
Comments: 63
Kudos: 128





	1. Lockdown

**Author's Note:**

> I'm quarantined. You're quarantined. We're all quarantined.  
> And now the ninja are quarantined too.
> 
> Nothing better to do in a pandemic than watch Ninjago and write fanfiction to go along with it!
> 
> We'll see where this goes. Hopefully at the very least it'll give you something to read and me something to write to make our COVID-19 quarantine a little less awful.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Background: Takes place shortly after season 5. I just felt like it would fit in pretty well at this point in the timeline.

“Quarantined? Are you kidding me?” 

Jay stared angrily at Wu as his Sensei broke the news to the team. “We’re ninja—our entire purpose is to save the world and all that jazz—and you’re asking us to stay home and do _nothing_?”

“Nothing,” Wu responded calmly, “except for playing video games, eating, and of course a bit of training here and there. And you’re right, Jay; your purpose _is_ to save the world. And none of you will be able to do that if you catch the virus and become too sick to fight.”

Never in his life had Jay anticipated he would be disappointed by the prospect of sitting at home playing video games all day. But something about the entire ninja team staying aboard the Destiny’s Bounty doing basically nothing for the foreseeable future just felt…wrong. 

“But see, that’s not fair,” Kai argued. “How are we supposed to play video games when we’ve already beat all of the ones we have, and we can’t go into Ninjago city, or any city, to buy more?”

Wu shrugged. “Not my problem.” After pausing to take in the annoyed reactions from all six ninja, he continued. “Perhaps then you could do something useful with your time. For once, you’ll have a lot of it.”

“This is definitely not what I expected when I learned I’m the water ninja,” Nya said, clearly just as frustrated as her teammates. “I thought I’d be training twenty-four-seven and taking out every threat that faces Ninjago, not sitting around listening to my brother whine about how he has no new video games to play. I’ve already done that for plenty long enough, even before becoming Samurai X or the master of water!”

Wu turned his attention to her. “Nobody said you can’t still train twenty-four-seven, Nya,” he reminded her. “It would certainly be a better use of your time than listening to Kai and Jay argue over who has a bigger—ahem, ahem—score on Sitar Legend.”

Nya laughed. “If only, Sensei. I’ve already beaten the training course we have here on the Bounty.”

“Then why don’t you and Jay build a new one?”

“Wouldn’t matter,” she insisted. “I beat the original training course before any of the boys did. I beat this training course the day we installed it. And since I became the water ninja, I’ve finished it on level ten in a shorter time than Kai has on level one.”

“That’s because I put my energy into things _other_ than training, unlike you,” Kai snapped at his sister.

Wu smirked mischievously. “That explains why she is already a better fighter than you, despite only having discovered her powers two months ago,” he teased.

“Hey!” Kai cried. “That’s not true!” He put his arm around Nya’s shoulders. “Nya was always a better fighter than me, even before getting her powers.”

Nya smiled. “Thanks, big brother!”

Jay nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Nya. You’ve always been the best at just about everything. It’s no surprise you’re an amazing ninja, too.”

As the water ninja blushed, Cole rolled his eyes. “Well, at least being quarantined will give you two lovebirds plenty of time to bond. And do whatever it is that lovebirds do.” He turned to Wu. “But what about the rest of us? I can’t very well meet up with people from Ninder if I’m stuck on board this ship for the next—First Spinjitzu Master knows how long!”

“Perhaps that’s a good thing,” Wu replied. “We wouldn’t want you…catching anything, and bringing it back here.” He laughed. “Take this time to bond with your teammates. Maybe you’ll discover something that you’ve never thought about before.”

The master of earth froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Wait, how do you hook up with people as a ghost anyway?” Jay asked.

Cole shrugged. “Nunya.”

“Nunya?”

The black ninja glared at him. “Nunya business, Zaptrap!”

Sensei shook his head in amusement. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to figure it out. Anyways, I should get back to making plans for Steep Wisdom. Just because there’s a virus going around, doesn’t mean people won’t still need their tea.”

“But uncle, isn’t that a bit…unsanitary?” Lloyd piped up. “A ton of businesses are closing down because of social distancing requirements. If we’re not even allowed to leave the ship, how are you still gonna sell tea? And why hasn’t Steep Wisdom been shut down already?”

“Well, first of all,” Wu responded, “as the business poses no immediate risk of spreading the virus, and tea can be very beneficial for those who do get sick, Steep Wisdom will remain open for delivery only. Second, I don’t expect any of you to work in the store during the pandemic. I can’t risk my ninja falling ill.”

“But what about yourself, Sensei?” Zane asked. “Isn’t the virus primarily dangerous to people who are…old?”

Wu looked almost offended. “I appreciate your concern, Zane, but I’m the son of the First Spinjitzu Master. I will be fine. Plus, my many years on this earth have come with excellent immunity. My health is the least of our concerns.”

“So you’re saying, with age comes immunity?” Jay said. He looked over at the green ninja. “Hey, Lloyd, you hear that? Better make sure you stay on the Bounty.”

The blonde laughed. “I’m more likely to die from your cooking, Jay,” he teased. “Besides, if anything happens to me, all of your powers go with me. I’ll bet that’s the real reason you’re concerned about me.”

“Of course it’s not!” Kai argued, glaring at Jay. “We care about _you_ , Lloyd. Screw our powers.” He hugged his smaller friend from behind. 

Jay scoffed. “Everybody knows that!” He retorted. “But yeah, the powers are nice too. Now that they’re back.”

“Hell yeah!” Cole exclaimed. “Gosh, this quarantine sucks, but at least we don’t have to worry about Morro and all of his BS anymore. That was definitely worse than this stupid virus.”

“You say that now,” Wu said, “because it hasn’t affected you in any considerable way. For thousands of people, this situation is even more dire than the Preeminent’s attack on Stiix. Don’t take what you have for granted.”

Zane nodded. “Of course, Master.” He turned to his friends. “This pandemic has already claimed the lives of many, which is much more than can be said for Morro’s antics. We are very fortunate that the biggest problem it has posed for us is making us stay away from society, which we already do most of the time anyway.”

“Zane is right,” Wu agreed. “It doesn’t seem like a big deal to you all, but for countless others, it’s a matter of life or death.”

“It wouldn’t be,” Jay said, annoyed, “if people would just do as they’re told and socially distance themselves!”

Kai narrowed his eyes. “Weren’t you just complaining about how you hate social distancing?”

“Uh-huh, and so were you. Doesn’t matter whether I wanna social distance or not. What matters is that I’m _gonna_.”

“Because Sensei’s making you,” Cole chimed in.

“Hey, hey, hey, shut up!”

“I would recommend you all try to get along,” Wu suggested. “It’ll make being quarantined far more enjoyable if you work together to pass the time instead of constantly arguing.”

“I one hundred percent agree with that,” Jay said, folding his arms. 

Cole laughed. “C’mon, Sensei. You know we love each other. This is just one of the ways we show it!”

“Oh, yeah, I feel the love alright.” The blue ninja rolled his eyes. 

Wu glanced from one ninja to the other until he had taken in the sight of all six. “Just…try,” he ordered. “That is all I can ask of you six during this difficult time.”

“Of course we will, Sensei,” Lloyd said. “If we have to face this lockdown, at least we can face it together.”

Wu smiled. “That’s the spirit.” He headed for the door. “Now, I’m off to figure out what’s going on with the store. You six, try to get along. If you’re successful, I just might make a quick stop at Doomsday Comics and pick up the new version of Ninja Kart for you all.”

As he left the room, the ninja looked at each other in excitement. Wu smirked to himself. He knew just how to get them to cooperate. 


	2. Quarantine Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad you're enjoying this so far!!!
> 
> This chapter is gonna start getting into some darker stuff. Unfortunately, as we all know, this quarantine isn't just about sitting at home and not having to go to school. Everyone who has food, good health, and a roof over their head has a lot to be grateful for, and I certainly am. However, being socially isolated, bored out of your mind, anxious about the pandemic, and uncertain about the future make this quarantine difficult even for those of us in fortunate situations. Even if your family is not directly affected by the virus, the state of our world today can have a substantial negative effect on mental health, and I wanted to draw some attention to that.
> 
> The lack of movement many people are experiencing due to being stuck inside all day, combined with the urge to eat out of boredom, has led many people to start voicing concerns about the "quarantine fifteen." Screw that! We are living through a global freaking pandemic! Our weight is the least of our concerns—if we do gain anything during the lockdown, we'll lose it easily when our lives go back to normal. But for those who have suffered from eating disorders, it's not quite so simple. I've been in recovery for almost three years, and after getting progressively better and closer to "normal," about a month ago, my situation triggered me and I fell back into old habits. I thought it would give me some semblance of control when I felt like I had none, but to nobody's surprise, it only made me feel a hundred times worse. I am, however, doing significantly better since going back into recovery. I'm not going to go too far into this topic, but I do want to address it. This is yet another problem posed by the virus, and it's incredibly dangerous and well-hidden, so in order to fight it we need to shed some light on it.
> 
> I'm issuing a TRIGGER WARNING because this story will include talk of eating disorders. I've always been fond of the idea of diving into the psychology of the ninja, and even seen some character arcs hinting at possible mental health conditions they could realistically have to face. This will not be the only mental health-related topic in the story, but it is unlikely that any others discussed will require a trigger warning. I think this is a good opportunity to bring attention to these difficult subjects, and I believe I can work them into the story in a way that will make the chapters more engaging without making the overall story too depressing.
> 
> If you are struggling with anything at all, please feel free to message me. I promise I will respond, and I promise you are not alone. None of us are.

Jay’s avatar zoomed across the finish line as the others watched the TV screen in awe.

“And…that’s it!” The blue ninja yelled excitedly. “Ninja Kart III—beaten by Jay. Add it to the pile.”

Frustrated, Kai picked up the video game’s box and tosses it on the growing pile of games which the master of lightning had beaten. “Not fair,” he complained. “If you gave any of the rest of us a turn, we’d be the ones beating all the new games. You’re a game-hog, you know that?”

Jay shrugged. “Better than being a cake hog,” he said. “Isn’t that right, Cole?”

The master of earth looked up from his plate. “Well, if you want cake so bad, make it yourself,” he retorted. “You can’t hog what’s _yours_.”

“What are you talking about?” Jay asked. “I know Zane made that cake for you.”

“Actually, no,” Cole argued. “Not this one. Zane taught me how to make the perfect cake, and I actually made this one all by myself.” He smiled proudly.

“Well, almost,” Zane said. “I pulled it out of the oven before you burned it.” He glanced at his black-clad friend, who was motioning for him to shut up. “But, other than that…yes, Cole made this cake all by himself.”

Kai looked over at Cole. “What’s that, the third cake you’ve eaten this week?”

“Hey, I had to practice my baking skills,” the earth ninja replied defensively. “And what am I supposed to do, throw them all out? If I make a cake—if anyone on this ship makes a cake—you bet your ass I’m eating it.”

“How do ghosts even eat?” Lloyd asked, confused. “Wouldn’t the food just phase right through you? Er, wouldn’t you…phase…through the…food?”

Cole shook his head. “Oh, trust me, we can eat,” he reassured him. “I mean, we don’t _have_ to eat, but we can.”

“Yeah,” Nya added, “I remember when Ghoul Tar ate potstickers, they actually weighed him down. They made him fatter, too.”

Lloyd’s eyes widened. “Ghosts can get fat?” He shuddered. “Gosh, I thought the only good thing about dying was not having to worry about your weight anymore.”

“Since when are you worried about your weight?” Jay questioned. “You’re, like, a child.”

“When are you guys gonna stop acting like I’m a kid?” Lloyd folded his arms. “The Tomorrow’s Tea made me right around your age—Sensei said it added about four years, which means I’m less than a year younger than Nya now.”

“Physically, maybe,” Jay said. “Mentally you’re, what, twelve?”

The green ninja scoffed. “I was twelve when I used the Tomorrow’s Tea!” He exclaimed. “I would have been sixteen. But I’m not. I’m twenty. My ID says so.”

“How the hell did you get an ID that says you’re four years older than you actually are?” Kai asked him. “Isn’t that technically a fake?”

Nya laughed. “If anyone would know about fake IDs, it’s you, Kai,” she remarked. “You had one when you were fifteen.”

“Well, when you have to run a blacksmith’s shop and take care of your little sister as she’s going through her tweens, I think you’re justified in engaging in a little underage drinking,” the fire ninja defended himself.

Lloyd shook his head. “I went to get my driver’s license last year, and Uncle Wu went with me and explained what had happened.” He smiled. “When you’re known for saving the city on multiple occasions, they tend to realize they have bigger problems than accelerating your legal age by a few years. Besides, what would be the point of a fake ID that says I’m twenty? I still can’t buy alcohol anyway.”

“Fair enough,” Kai conceded. “Can we get back to talking about how you think about your weight? You’re in perfect shape. If anyone needs to be worried about their weight, it’s Cole.”

Cole bristled. “Hey!” He exclaimed. “When we lost Zane, I went through a really dark period of time. I used food to cope then. But when we got him back, my abs came with him.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I have to be in great shape for anything right now. When life gets back to normal, so will my eating habits and my body.”

“So wait, you’re saying eating three cakes in three days _isn’t_ normal for you?” Jay teased.

“No, it’s not,” Cole replied. “It usually takes me at least five days to eat three cakes.”

The others laughed. 

Cole smiled. “I’m fine, guys. I promise. The ‘quarantine fifteen’ is the least of our concerns. Especially since Wu won’t let me go out even though I’m a ghost! Something about getting germs on my uniform. He’s just being extra cautious right now.”

Zane nodded. “He told me the same. Of course, being a nindroid, I cannot catch the virus. But I can still spread it. I wouldn’t risk that even if Sensei _would_ let me leave. Besides, I am enjoying bonding with you all. As long as we have each other, this quarantine will be a piece of cake.”

The oven timer went off. 

“Speaking of cake,” the nindroid said, “looks like mine just finished cooking. Cole, did you make the frosting?”

“Yep!” Cole dashed to the fridge to grab it. 

“You’re making _another_ cake?” Kai asked in disbelief.

“Don’t worry,” Cole reassured him. “This one’s for all of us, not just me!”

“Okay.” Jay rolled his eyes in amusement. “Whatever you say.”

The master of earth moved his index finger toward the bowl of chocolate frosting.

"Wait!" Zane exclaimed. "Wash your hands! Twenty seconds, at least. With soap and warm water."

"I'm a ghost," Cole reminded him, annoyed. He dipped his finger into the bowl and scooped out a small bite of the frosting. He poked his finger at Zane's blushing face. "Try it!"

The ice ninja did as he was instructed, holding back a giggle. "Wow, Cole," he remarked. "I think this may be your best batch of frosting yet!"

“Sweet!” Cole said excitedly.

“Yes,” Zane agreed. “It is quite sweet.”

Laughing, Cole threw his arm around his friend’s shoulders. “You’re quite sweet,” he told him. 

The two worked together to frost the cake before bringing it out to the others, who were watching intently as Kai attempted to follow in Jay’s footsteps by beating Ninja Kart III. 

“Cake time!” Cole announced excitedly.

Kai paused the game. “Quarantine fifteen, here we come!” He joked.

Zane sliced the cake into six even pieces, then began handing them out to each of the other ninja. “Enjoy!”

Kai, Nya, and Jay dug into theirs immediately, wolfing it down as though they hadn’t eaten all day. Which of course, they all had—there wasn’t much to do aboard the Bounty other than eat all of the food in the pantry which Wu had to replenish almost daily.

Lloyd stared at his piece, biting his lip as the anxiety set in. He picked up his fork and scraped off a tiny bite of the frosting. 

“C’mon, Lloyd,” Cole said, looking up from his half-eaten piece. “Try it! Zane made the cake, so it’s safe to eat, I promise.”

The green ninja forced a laugh. He brought his fork to his lips and consumed the small bite. “Mmmm,” he said. “This is really good! I’m really impressed, Cole! Great job on the frosting. It’s almost as good as Zane’s, and that’s saying something!”

“Thanks, Green Machine!” Cole said. “Now try it with Zane’s cake! The two of us make the perfect team, I swear!”

Lloyd took another bite, this time getting both cake and frosting. He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right! This is amazing! Thanks, guys.” He set the plate and fork down on the table.

Kai looked at his blond friend, a hint of concern in his brown eyes. “That’s all you’re having?”

“Oh, yeah,” Lloyd sputtered. “I actually just had the biggest lunch. I told Sensei to stop buying cereal, ‘cause I swear I’ve eaten almost all of it. He didn’t listen.” He laughed nervously.

“Ah, so that’s what happened to the corn flakes,” Jay remarked. “I was pretty sure we had an entire box in the pantry, but I went to get some earlier and I couldn’t find them.”

“Sorry,” Lloyd apologized. “I finished them off about an hour ago. Do you want my cake?”

Jay happily accepted the barely-eaten piece of cake as Lloyd handed him the plate. “Uh, is that even a question?” He took a bite without hesitation.

Lloyd stood up. “Well, I’m gonna go do some training,” he announced. “Thanks for the cake, Cole and Zane.” He headed in the direction of the staircase which led to the deck. “See you guys later!”

As he left the other five to finish their massive portions of cake, his stomach growled in protest. He coughed to mask the sound, and ignored the pain as he headed for the training course. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lloyd will be fine, I promise. Like I said, I'm not gonna dive too deep into this storyline—it's gonna be more of a general concern that I want to address, and I'll focus mostly on him fighting it and recovering. So not too tragic, but if you are easily triggered by this stuff, please don't read this! My goal is to help people with this shit, not make it worse. Also to help myself, I suppose. Please reach out if you're having a hard time with anything related to mental health, or if you're just bored and want someone to talk to, because same!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment! :)


	3. Ninja Roll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy you're enjoying this story! I hope it continues to bring you some joy in these challenging times. Your comments have brightened my life! :)
> 
> Also, just something I want to add: for the purposes of this story, Zane looks like a normal person. He is the Titanium Ninja, he just doesn't look like it. Imagine he looks like he does in seasons 1-3. And Pixal isn't in his head. That drove me crazy. It made Glacier shipping really weird XD
> 
> Now, onto the chapter!

“Ninja roll!” Jay yelped in excitement as he dived headfirst over the couch. He landed in a roll and stood up, jumping for joy as he did so. He turned back to Cole. “Now it’s your turn, Cole!” 

The ghost shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know, Jay. That looked really painful.”

“I didn’t feel a thing!” Jay replied. “It’s just like doing a dive roll, but you’re jumping over the couch. Just pretend it’s not there!”

“But what if I land on my head?” Cole asked nervously. “I could break my neck!”

Kai laughed. “You’re a ghost, remember?”

Zane nodded, giving Cole a reassuring smile. “Ghosts can’t get hurt, unless they go through water.”

The black ninja facepalmed. “Oh my gosh, you’re right!” He exclaimed. “I keep forgetting that! How do I keep forgetting that? I’m a freakin’ ghost!” He backed up a few steps, then raced toward the couch. “Ninja roll!” He yelled as he jumped. As he flew through the air above the couch, anxiety gripped him, and he placed his hands on the furniture. He flipped over his hands, landing in a crouch on the other side. 

“Whoa!” Jay remarked. “That was so cool! I wanna try that!” He darted over to their makeshift starting line.

“Ah ah ah,” Kai scolded, placing his hand out in front of Jay. “Back of the line, Lightning Rod.”

Jay gripped his arm, embarrassed. “Oh, right,” he muttered as he took a few steps backward so he was behind Lloyd.

The green ninja smiled sympathetically. “It’s okay, Jay. You can go ahead of me if you want to.”

“Really?” Jay’s blue eyes lit up. “Thanks, Lloyd!” He hugged the blonde. “You’re seriously the nicest person ever!”

“Don’t encourage his line-cutting,” Kai teased. “Eventually he’s gonna have to learn to wait in line like the rest of us. You can’t get a perpetual fast-pass to cut every line in existence.”

Jay bristled. “I know how to wait my turn!” He said defensively. “I just…it’s kinda hard for me, okay?”

“Anything that involves standing still is hard for you,” Cole added. “You never stop moving. It’s like you’re constantly being driven by a motor.” He chuckled. “Your mouth certainly is!”

The rest of the team cracked up at that. Trying not to trip in his laughter, Kai dived over the couch, yelling “Ninja roll” as he did so. Then it was Zane’s turn; of course, his roll was flawless. 

“Zane!” Cole shouted. “That was the best one yet! How are you so good at everything?”

The ice ninja blushed. No one—not even Pixal—could make him blush like the master of earth did. “I’m a nindroid,” he replied humbly. “I’m… _ supposed _ to be good at everything.” He ran his hand through his blond hair. “And I thought your flip was the coolest one so far.”

“Thanks, Zane!” Cole couldn’t keep the smile off his face. 

“Zane’s right,” Nya agreed, “I liked the way you did it.” She ran toward the couch. “Ninja roll!” She placed her hands intentionally on the flat part of the sofa, pushing off as she did so. She landed on her feet, crouching slightly, but not nearly as much as Cole had. She jumped up. “I did it!”

“That was perfect!” Jay said. “You’re perfect, Nya.”

“Enough with the mush fest!” Kai ordered jokingly. “It’s your turn, Lloyd.”

“Oh, I said Jay could go before me,” Lloyd reminded him.

Jay shrugged. “It’s okay, Lloyd. I can wait another minute.”

Lloyd took a deep breath. He ran toward the couch, springing off the ground as he reached it. He flew over the top of it, but he hadn’t jumped high enough, and his feet caught onto the highest point. He hurtled toward the ground, hands first. Because of his lack of distance, his face hit the front end of the couch, and his arms gave out as they hit the ground. His entire body slammed onto the floor.

“Lloyd!” Kai screamed. He ran over to his smaller friend, cupping Lloyd’s face in his hands. “Are you okay?”

“Ow!” The green ninja sat up slowly, rubbing his head. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He looked at the couch. “Just didn’t get high enough, I guess.”

Kai wasn’t buying it. “Lloyd, you’re pretty tall,” he said calmly. “It doesn’t take much for a tall ninja to jump over a couch. And when you landed…your arms collapsed.” He looked into Lloyd’s green eyes. “What’s going on?”

Lloyd stood up. “I’m just tired, okay?” He snapped. He shook his head. “Sorry, Kai. I…I’m just…” He stared at the ground, where he had crashed only moments before. “I’m fine.”

Kai opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a word out, Lloyd turned and bolted down the hallway. He was debating whether to chase after his friend when his thoughts were interrupted by another yell.

“NINJA ROLL!” Jay called loudly as he leapt over the couch, in an attempt to snap the group out of their solemn silence. He rolled and stood up, coming face to face with Wu.

The Sensei’s arms were folded, his mustache drooping even more than usual in his annoyed scowl. “First Spinjitzu Master, ninja!” He cursed. “Are you trying to make as much noise as humanly possible? Because if you are, you’re certainly proving that ninja never quit!”

“Sorry, Sensei,” Jay apologized, clasping his hands behind his back.

Wu smiled. “It’s alright,” he said. “I’m just glad to see you all getting along. But I am trying to meditate, so I would appreciate some peace and quiet for the next hour or so.”

“Of course,” Zane said. “We will quiet down for you, Master Wu.”

The others nodded. 

“I appreciate that.” Wu turned away and headed back to continue his meditation. “Why don’t you all read a book? I haven’t seen anyone do that in awhile. Feed your brains as much as you’ve been feeding your stomachs with Cole’s cakes.”


	4. Focus

“Jay, can you _sit still_?” Cole snapped. “I’m trying to read here!”

The blue ninja brought his attention to his right leg, which was outstretched on the couch and fidgeting uncontrollably. “Oops,” he laughed. “Sorry, Cole. I’ll try.”

Cole returned to his book, trying to find his place once again. Every few minutes he would become distracted by the master of lightning’s incessant movements as he himself attempted to read his own novel. Cole found his place and regained his focus. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he had always been fascinated by the world of fantasy, and loved immersing himself into stories about dragons. Perhaps it was because he had always feared the creatures, which only added to his enthrallment with them. He was comforted by the belief that the stories were merely fiction—that is, until he began coming face to face with the animals in real life. But Rocky had changed his mind: he no longer feared dragons, but loved them. And now he had one of his own element, which he could summon at will. There was nothing scary about that; it was amazing.

“Jay, QUIT IT!” He wrenched his gaze away from the page and glared at his teammate, who was now bouncing up and down in his seat.

“I’m sorry!” Jay exclaimed. “I’m really trying!”

Cole rolled his eyes. “How hard is it for you to just stop moving for ten freaking minutes?”

“I don’t know,” Jay muttered, his blue eyes drifting down to the floor. “Moving helps me focus.”

Zane raised an eyebrow, looking over at his blue-clad brother. “Jay,” he asked calmly, “has it always been difficult for you to focus on reading?”

Jay nodded, slightly embarrassed. “I was always getting in trouble when I was in school,” he admitted. “I’d get called out for not being able to sit still, and getting up out of my seat when I wasn’t supposed to. Whenever we’d have quiet reading time, I’d start talking and usually end up getting sent to the principal’s office.” He laughed uncomfortably. “Good thing I’m not in school anymore.”

“And what about during tests?” Zane pressed.

The blue ninja huffed audibly. “Oh, man! Thank the First Spinjitzu Master I don’t have to take tests anymore!”

“Were they difficult for you?”

Jay shrugged. “I’ve always been pretty smart, I guess,” he replied. “But tests…yeah, they were hard. I’d get so distracted when I was taking them—looking at the clock, having to read the passages again and again ‘cause I couldn’t understand them, skipping ahead, having every little thing set off a completely unrelated story in my mind—I was always the last one done. Except math. I was always really good at math and engineering and that kind of stuff. But reading…” He shuddered at the thought. 

Zane nodded, taking in the information his friend was sharing. “How did you do in classes where you had to participate in a group discussion? Or where you had to pay attention to a lecture?”

“Not well,” Jay admitted. “If I’m not taking notes, I’m not comprehending or retaining a word the teacher’s saying. And don’t even get me started on group discussions.”

Cole laughed. “With how much you talk, I’d imagine those would be a breeze for you.”

“Well, it’s not hard for me to _say_ something,” Jay said. “Problem is, if I want to say something, that’s all I’ll think about until I get it out. If anyone says anything between when I get an idea and when I say it out loud, I don’t even hear it.”

“Ah,” Cole said. “So when it seems like you’re not listening, you’re really not.”

“I try to! It’s just so hard! If I’m not engaged with what people are saying, my mind wanders off and finds something I _am_ interested in. Then if I get called on to answer a question, I usually won’t be able to, because I wasn’t paying attention.” He sighed. “I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. Everyone does…right?” Jay looked at his teammates for reassurance.

The black ninja stared at him. “No, I don’t think that’s normal,” he replied slowly. 

Nya had closed her book and was looking at Jay. “Jay…I had no idea…” she sputtered. “That doesn’t happen to me.”

Jay turned to Zane. “That’s… _not_ something everybody does?”

The ice ninja looked at his friend, his eyes soft with empathy. “Jay,” he spoke up. “Have you ever heard of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?” He asked.

Jay blinked. “What?”

Cole’s dark brown eyes widened. “Ohhh,” he breathed, realization flooding over him. He laughed. “Everything makes so much more sense now.”

“What do you mean?” Jay asked incredulously. “You think something’s…wrong with me?”

“No!” Nya exclaimed. “No, of course not. It’s totally normal, Jay. A lot of smart, successful, amazing people just like you have it, too.”

Jay stared at his girlfriend. “Have what?”

Her amber eyes met his. “ADHD.”

He slumped back against the couch. “Oh.”

“Have you heard of that before?” Zane repeated.

Jay nodded. “Yeah, that sounds familiar.”

The master of ice moved closer to the redhead and placed his hand on his knee comfortingly. “I-I think you should talk to a psychiatrist about it,” he suggested calmly.

Jay looked up at him, his surprise and confusion giving way to a strange sense of relief. “How?” He asked. “We’re quarantined, remember?”

“You can talk to someone over a video call,” Zane replied. “I think it could be a good idea for Lloyd as well.”

“Yeah, there’s definitely something off about that kid,” Cole agreed. 

Jay sighed. “O-Okay,” he conceded. “I’m open to that.” He stared out the window. _Maybe I don’t have to deal with this all the time_ , he thought to himself. His inattention and restlessness had always been a struggle for him, but he was under the impression that was something everyone just had to learn to cope with. He smiled with relief at the thought that this was something that could be changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! Jay is showing some symptoms of ADHD, but one can only be diagnosed by a mental health professional, so don't self-diagnose just because you relate to him. It can't hurt to talk to somebody about it if you're struggling with similar things, though!
> 
> Again, my inbox is always open. Please reach out if you're struggling at all—or just bored.
> 
> More updates to come soon!


	5. It's Not Like Zane's Your Boyfriend

“You guys are just now realizing that Jay has ADHD?” Kai asked, walking out of the hallway and into the living room. “I thought everyone already knew that.”

Jay blinked at the red ninja. “What do you mean?”

Kai laughed. “Come on, Jay. No normal person is as distracted and restless as you are.”

“There is nothing about mental disorders that makes Jay ‘not normal,’ Kai,” Zane corrected. “Of course Jay is not normal—but that has nothing to do with the way his brain works.”

“Thank you, Zane!” Jay said, crossing his arms. “Hey, wait a minute! What do you mean I’m not normal?”

The ice ninja shrugged. “None of us are normal,” he replied simply. “The moment we became ninja, all expectations of normalcy went out the window.”

“He’s got a point,” Cole agreed. “Normal people can’t control the elements, create dragons out of thin air, defeat the Overlord…need I go on?”

“Eat three cakes in a week,” Jay teased.

“Burn off the calories of three cakes by throwing your one-hundred-fifty pound, video game-hogging, fidgety roommate across the room when he’s annoying you,” Cole retorted.

“Hey!” Jay snapped. “I weigh more than a hundred and fifty pounds!”

Their argument was interrupted by the sound of a ringtone going off. Kai pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered the call. “Skylor!” He greeted cheerily. “Hey, what’s up?”

“If you want to weigh more than a hundred fifty pounds,” Cole whispered, “maybe  _ you _ should try eating three cakes per week!”

“Fine, I will!” Jay replied. “But not if you’re the one who’s making them!”

Kai raised his voice. “Oh, you’re still doing takeout orders at the Noodle House? That’s awesome—I’ll have to stop by and pick something up then!”

Cole glared at the master of lightning. “Hey, how dare you? My cakes are getting better every time!”

“Tell that to the massive crap I took after eating your last one!”

“I’ll stay six feet away when I pick my order up, I promise.” Kai’s voice continued to get louder, his frustrated tone growing more apparent. “Okay, fine. Maybe I didn’t like your dad’s noodles all that much. Maybe I just wanna see my friend. What’s wrong with that?”

“You  _ took _ a massive crap because you’re  _ full _ of a massive amount of crap!” Cole clapped back.

Jay scoffed. “Only after I eat a massive amount of your cooking!”

The fire ninja sighed. “Excuse me, Skylor.” He turned to the blue and black ninjas. “Can you two shut the hell up?”

“Sure,” Jay said. “I’ll eat some of Cole’s chili. It’ll glue my mouth shut…again!”

“That was four years ago! Let it go!”

“The truth knows no time, Dirtclod!”

Zane spoke up. “Come on, brothers. Now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. Especially since we have to be around each other all of the time.”

Cole stared at the ground. “You’re right,” he admitted. “Sorry Zane.”

“Hey, he’s not the one you need to apologize to!” Jay said, annoyed. 

The earth ninja glared at him once again. “My fist will apologize to your—” He trailed off as his eyes met Zane’s. “I mean, sorry Zaptrap.”

Jay looked from the black ninja to the white and back again, but said nothing. He smiled. “It’s okay,” he replied. “We fight, it’s part of the charm of our friendship. And I’m sorry too. Your cake’s not  _ that _ bad…anymore.”

Cole smiled back. He held out his hand. “We good?”

Jay shook it. “Yeah, we’re good.” He laughed. “At least now I know how to get you to do anything.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Cole asked, confused.

The blue ninja grinned mischievously. “You’ll do whatever Zane tells you, huh?”

Cole shook his head. “What? Zane doesn’t tell me what to do.”

“Occasionally, I do,” Zane clarified. 

Cole shrugged. “Whatever!” He turned back to Jay. “You’ll do whatever Nya tells you, and she tells you what to do a lot more often than Zane does!”

Jay raised an eyebrow. “Nya’s my  _ girlfriend _ ,” he reminded him. “It’s different. It’s not like Zane’s your boyfriend.”

The black ninja went beet red, the rush of blood to his cheeks obvious despite his ghostly complexion.

“Whoa, you should see your face!” Jay exclaimed. “I thought Kai was the red ninja, not you!”

Cole glanced at Kai in a panic. To his relief, the master of fire had made his way to the kitchen and was deep in a phone conversation with Skylor. He hadn’t heard anything.

Cole turned his gaze back to the two ninja who were sitting on the couch across from him, staring at him intently. “I…I must have gotten sunburned,” he stuttered defensively. 

“You don’t burn, Cole,” Zane argued. “When you spend time in the sun, you get a rather nice tan.”

“Can ghosts even—” Jay began, cutting himself off as he decided he would rather watch the scene unfold than intervene any further.

Cole’s face grew even redder. “Th-thanks, Zane,” he stammered. “Thanks for…noticing…”

Jay’s eyes were as wide as Cole’s mouth was when he was shoveling cake into it. He kept quiet, surprise setting in as he realized his teasing turned out to be rooted in reality. He looked over at Zane. The nindroid didn’t seem to grasp the reason as to why Cole was acting so nervous, but there was a softness in his ice blue eyes that Jay had never seen before. Not even when Zane had looked at Pixal.

“It is hard not to notice you,” Zane replied. He tilted his head. “Jay was right, your face did get quite red. Is everything alright?”

The earth ninja was blushing uncontrollably. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said frantically. “Maybe all that cake’s not sitting so well with me…” He jumped up and bolted down the hallway.

“Told ya!” Jay called after him halfheartedly. He looked back at the bewildered Zane. “Dude!”

Zane blinked. “What?”

Jay laughed. “Never mind.”


	6. Weight A Minute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorders (not graphic, no numbers, but please don't read if it might trigger you in any way)

"Lloyd?" Kai knocked on the bathroom door. "Hey, buddy? You okay?"

The green ninja sniffled. "Yeah!" He called back. "I'm fine!" He sniffed again, wiping his nose.

Kai sighed. "You don't sound fine," he said, concerned. "Are you...are you crying?"

Another sniffle sounded from the other side of the door. "N-No," Lloyd lied.

The master of fire didn't buy it for a second. "Can I come in?"

"Uh…" Lloyd paused. "Sure, I guess." A few moments later, the bathroom lock clicked as Lloyd twisted the doorknob. He opened the door a crack and peered out at the brunette, green eyes red and puffy.

Kai's brow furrowed when he saw the smaller ninja. "Lloyd..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. He opened the door further and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking it behind him. His eyes drifted from Lloyd 's tear-streaked face to the weighing scale on the floor. "Oh my gosh, Lloyd…"

The blonde followed his gaze, pale face growing bright red as he realized he couldn't keep his secret hidden any longer. "It—it was just sitting there when I came in," he stammered, hoping that the red ninja would believe him.

Kai looked at Lloyd, his eyes soft. "Lloyd," he said calmly. "I was in here right before you. It was in the cabinet. Nobody uses it; nobody needs to."

Lloyd was silent. He stared at the floor, not knowing whether he should be more embarrassed by the fact that Kai had just confirmed his earlier suspicions or that he had been caught in a lie.

"You said the other day that you're worried about your weight," Kai continued, speaking softly. "You barely had any cake, and I found the box of cornflakes half-full under your bed. Plus, don't think I haven't noticed how much time you've been spending training."

"It's too quiet!" Lloyd protested. "Someone's gonna attack somewhere, I know it! I just wanna be prepared, that's all."

Kai shook his head. "If you really wanted to be prepared, you'd eat before you trained. Speaking of which, when was the last time you ate something? And remember, I can tell when you're lying."

The green ninja sighed. "I ate a few hours ago."

"What did you eat?"

Lloyd refused to make eye contact. "Um, I had cornflakes and coffee."

Kai didn't relent. "How much?"

"Not enough, okay?" Lloyd threw his hands up in protest. He looked up at his taller friend. "I haven't been eating enough, and I know that. But I _shouldn't_ be!"

Kai stared at him in bewilderment. "What do you mean, you shouldn't be?"

"I've gained weight, Kai!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I knew my weight from when I'd gotten a health check right before the quarantine started—you know, to make sure I was doing well after the whole possession thing. I saw the number, and I didn't care! I looked it up simply out of curiosity, and I'm a healthy weight for my height. On the higher end, yeah, but Zane said that's because of how much muscle I have from training. But about a week ago, when I realized how inactive I was being compared to usual, I weighed myself to see if it had changed. And it had! I gained five pounds, Kai!"

"Weight fluctuates," Kai assured him. "It can be a few pounds higher or lower from one day to the next depending on a bunch of meaningless factors, like how much water you've been drinking, or whether you've pooped or not."

"But it didn't go back down!' The blonde cried. "It's stayed high every time I've weighed myself for the past week!"

Kai looked into Lloyd's eyes. "But why does it matter?" He asked. "You know that when life goes back to normal, your weight will, too. Just like Cole said the other day."

"You don't get it, Kai!" Lloyd's eyes began to brim with tears. "I can't _control_ it! I don't have control over my own body!" His voice grew quieter. "I didn't when I was possessed by Morro, and I don't now that I'm free." He sighed. "In fact, I don't have control of _anything_. The whole world feels out of control, and there's nothing I can do to change that. I hate this! I hate feeling out of control!"

Kai nodded slowly, beginning to understand. "So you're trying to control what you still can, that being your weight," he said, putting the pieces together. "That makes sense."

"But I can't even control that," Lloyd continued. "My weight won't go down, no matter how little I eat or how hard I train."

"You do know that when your body isn't getting enough fuel, it'll slow down your metabolism so you burn fewer calories, and will hang on to all the weight it can, right?"

Lloyd blinked. "What?"

"Yep." Kai smiled. "Our bodies are smart, Lloyd. They're going to fight really hard to stay at a healthy weight, whether that means burning fewer calories or more than usual. Now, of course we can override that if we eat too little or too much for too long, but that's not gonna happen over a period of a few days."

"Then why did I gain weight already?" Lloyd asked, confused.

Kai shrugged. "Could be a number of reasons. Stress is a big one. The amount of sleep you're getting can impact it, too. Hormones, water consumption, the type of foods you're eating. Also, how often are you pooping?"

"Kai!" The green ninja laughed, blushing. "I'm not answering that! Just...no."

The brunette put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Just think about it." He wrapped his arms around Lloyd. "You're okay, Lloyd. You're gonna be just fine. I promise."

Lloyd hugged him back, beginning to relax. "Thank you, Kai," he murmured.

Kai pulled back and grabbed Lloyd's hands reassuringly. "You don't have to lose a pound," he said. "You probably shouldn't—you're already pretty thin. The only reason you weigh more than other people your size is because of your muscle. That, and you might just have a little Devourer venom in your blood. I'm surprised that question hasn't come up yet."

"Hey!" Lloyd hit him playfully. He froze. "Wait, shit! You're right! Do I have Devourer venom in me? From my dad?"

Kai laughed. "Well, if you do, it hasn't posed any sort of problem. I wouldn't worry about it." He changed the subject. "If you really want to lose weight, you definitely shouldn't starve yourself. That's just gonna increase your stress levels, which will raise your cortisol, and then your insulin sensitivity will decrease, causing your body to store more weight around your stomach. Your body will fight back—your temperature will drop, you'll become more tired and still, and it'll make controlling your weight a slow and painful process. Insert a bunch of other science-y stuff that you should ask Zane—or a real doctor—about if you're really curious. If you're gonna change anything, just eat healthier foods and drink more water." He smiled. "You will be fine, trust me. But don't quote me on that science crap. The number on the scale doesn't determine your health, and it certainly doesn't define your worth. Screw the scales!"

Lloyd looked up at the red ninja, smiling back at him. "Hey, Skales isn't that bad anymore!" He joked. "Thank you, Kai. Really." He looked away. "I didn't want to do all that," he admitted. "All that exercising too much and eating too little. I hate being fixated on stuff like that. I just wanna live my life, even if it's all at home right now. I want to be able to hang out with you guys, eat Cole's cake, play Ninja Roll without collapsing. It honestly felt kind of like I was still possessed by something; it wasn't me who was making myself do all that shit! It was stupid, and irrational, and awful. But it wasn't me—it was...something else…" He trailed off. "I don't know."

"Of course it wasn't you," Kai reassured him. "It's a mental illness, Lloyd. A lot of factors are in play when it comes to that kind of thing, but none of it is your fault." He hugged Lloyd again. "I heard Jay's gonna see a psychiatrist over a video call for his ADHD. Do you think that could be something that's helpful for you? You can get on medication, or see a therapist, or a dietician. You have options—you have ways to take back your control."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah," he replied quietly. "Yeah, I think that could be good for me." He smiled again. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Green Machine." Kai pulled something out of his pocket. "I brought something for you." He held out a wrapped piece of candy.

Lloyd took it. "A Bounty Bar?" He asked, reading the label. He raised an eyebrow. "Is this because we're stuck on the Bounty for First Spinjitzu Master knows how long?"

Kai laughed. "Yep! And because I know how much you love chocolate, and candy in general." He met Lloyd's green eyes once again. "Can you...can you eat it?"

The blonde sighed. "For you, I guess." He unwrapped the candy bar and cautiously took a bite. His eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I forgot how freaking good these are!" In less than thirty seconds, the bar was gone. Lloyd shrugged off Kai's surprised stare. "What? I was hungry!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor, or any sort of medical professional. I suck at science, and I don't even have a job (thanks COVID)! An unemployed fanfiction writer who watches crack videos all day cannot tell you anything about your health, so if you're concerned about any of that stuff, please see a real doctor (while maintaining appropriate social distancing measures, of course). All of the "science-y stuff" in this chapter was information I've gathered from the internet or personal experience and should not be taken as fact. Contrary to the Panic! At The Disco song, this is NOT gospel!


	7. Reflections

Jay stared off into the sunset, his head resting against Nya's as the two sat side by side on the upper deck of the Bounty. For all the stress the world was under, the blue ninja realized with relief that there were some things about it that remained constant. The sun was still rising every morning and setting every night; the days could still be distinguished from the nights; and just like the ninja, the world kept spinning. The lack of air pollution allowed the ship's residents to see much further than usual, and Jay smiled to himself as he saw small flickers of movement in the trees below. The environment was slowly but surely rebuilding itself, like Zane had less than a year before, and the wildlife was coming out to play once again. At that moment, everything just felt right.

"It's so beautiful," Nya murmured, her soft voice snapping Jay out of his thoughts.

Without missing a beat, the blue ninja smiled. "Not as beautiful as you," he replied. He blushed. "Sorry, that was really cheesy."

The newly-appointed master of water looked up into Jay's blue eyes. "Aww, Jay, you're so sweet! I love your cheesy comments; never apologize for being yourself." She snuggled closer to him, her head on his shoulder.

Jay's gaze had drifted from the stunning sight below him to the one next to him. He sat in silence for a few moments, mesmerized at the beauty of his girlfriend, wondering how he could possibly have been so lucky. After a minute, he finally spoke up. "I love you, Nya."

The raven-haired girl sat up straight, caught off guard by her companion's comment. "Jay…"

"Oh my gosh," Jay sputtered, his cheeks growing red. "Was that too soon? I'm sorry Nya—"

The water ninja ran her right hand through Jay's red hair, bringing his lips to hers as she cut him off with a kiss. After a split second of being frozen in surprise, Jay mirrored her actions, cupping her face with one hand while the other drifted to her waist. She climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck without breaking the kiss. Jay could feel his heart racing, the butterflies returning to his stomach as they always did when he was around his girl.

After several minutes, Nya pulled away. Her amber eyes gazed into Jay's deep blue ones. "What did I tell you about apologizing for being yourself?" She asked. "Stop it, Jay. I said it at Mega Monster Amusement Park four years ago, and I'll say it again: you don't need to be anything that you're not. I like you for you." She smiled. "I _love_ you for you."

The blue ninja gaped at her, speechless. There were no words that could describe the way he felt that very minute. A meek "R-Really?" was all he could get out.

"Of course!" Nya replied. "Jay, I've been in love with you since our first date."

Jay stared at her, his mouth open. "You...you have?"

Nya nodded. "I have. Even when it seemed like I was trying to choose between you and Cole. It was always you, I just…" She sighed. "I was scared I would ruin things with you."

"What do you mean?" Jay asked, bewildered.

"Well, you're just so...so kind, Jay," she answered. "I saw the way you always looked at me, the way you always treated me, and I didn't want to do anything that would change that. You've always been so sweet, and funny, and adorable, and I'm—well, not."

The master of lightning shook his head. "Nya, you are perfect! I've always loved how strong and fiery you are—we balance each other out perfectly. And there's never been anything you could do that would change my feelings for you," he reassured her.

"I know. But it all felt too good to be true." She looked away. "If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that you should never get too comfortable. You never really know when the people you love are just...going to disappear..."

Jay immediately pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Nya," he breathed. "I'm so sorry. Your parents—gosh, I can see how that could make this hard for you." He pulled back slightly and once again looked into her eyes. "But I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Nya blinked, trying to hold back tears. "You can't promise that," she said. "We don't know what the future holds."

The redhead smirked as his mind drifted back to when he had seen his reflection in the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master weeks before. "Actually, I do."

"What?"

Jay took a breath. "I don't know how, and I don't know when, and I can't explain how I know what I know." He wiped a tear from Nya's cheek. "But I know that you and I are going to end up together. We're meant for each other. Trust me."

Nya smiled. "Okay," she conceded. "I trust you." She hugged her boyfriend tightly.

"No matter what, Nya, I love you," Jay said quietly. "I'll always love you. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. Other than the fact that your brother's gonna kill me if I screw this up."

The water ninja laughed and hugged him tighter.


	8. Hang-Skeleton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to play hang-skeleton along with the ninja, let me know if you figure out what the phrase is before they do! Which letter gives it away? Enjoy chapter eight!

"Sensei, I'm _bored_!" Jay whined. "We've been stuck on the Bounty for three weeks! Which, naturally, means Cole's eaten…" he did the math in his head, "nine cakes. Wait, that can't be right. I swear I've counted at least fifteen!"

"Fifteen?" Zane asked. "Are you talking about the number of hours you spend playing video games every day?"

Jay blinked at the master of ice. "Huh, I expected that from Cole, but not from you, Zane." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. When can we _do something_ again?"

Wu's beard twitched in amusement. "You can 'do something' whenever you like, Jay. As long as you stay on the ship."

The blue ninja rolled his eyes. "But there's nothing to do on the ship!"

"Then find something," Wu suggested.

"Like what?"

The Sensei shrugged. "Why don't you paint something? We have art supplies somewhere around here."

"I'm down for that," Kai said. "Gosh, I haven't painted in ages!"

"Me too!" Lloyd piped up.

"Sounds fun!" Nya added.

Zane walked over to a cupboard and pulled out five blank canvases and some paint. "Whaddaya say, Zaptrap? You in?"

Jay snapped his head around to stare at the white ninja. "Okay, Zane, _what_ is going on? Why are you talking like that?"

"Talking like what?" The nindroid asked, making his way over to the others, art supplies in tow.

"Talking like...I don't know...not Zane," Jay answered. "You never call me 'Zaptrap.' Only Cole does. And sometimes Kai. But never Zane!"

"Speaking of Cole," Nya said, "has anyone seen him? Should we see if he wants to join us?"

Zane shook his head abruptly. "N-No, that's fine. He's...sleeping, I think. Wouldn't want to wake him up."

"Wow, I'm surprised you'd pass on a chance to spend time with Cole," Jay teased.

The ice ninja glared at him. "Can it, Motor Mouth!"

Jay burst out laughing while the others stifled giggles. "Okay, that is literally the most unnatural thing I've ever heard!"

Wu smiled and left the five to begin painting amidst their bickering.

The red ninja had no interest in trying to create a masterpiece. With red paint, he drew three sets of horizontal lines onto his canvas: five lines, then two, then nine. He painted an upside-down 'T' next to the lines, adding a sideways 'L' stemming from the top.

"Ooh, Kai!" Lloyd shouted in excitement. "Are we playing hang-skeleton?"

"You bet, Green Machine!" Kai answered. "Give me a letter!"

"'L,'" the green ninja stated.

Kai laughed. "Of course you would pick 'L.'" He wrote the letter above the first space in the third set of lines. "Okay, now someone else."

"'N!'" Nya called.

Kai wrote an 'N' above the sixth and eighth lines of the third word.

"'J!'" Jay said, continuing the trend.

"Really?" Kai asked. "'J' is like, one of the least common letters. But if you insist." He shrugged and drew a skeleton head on the hang-skeleton diagram. "Zane?"

"Let's go with 'C,'" the nindroid said.

"Thank the First Spinjitzu Master you didn't say 'Z!"' The red ninja exclaimed. "I was worried you were all gonna use the first letter of your name." He gave his skeleton a body. "Back to you, Lloyd."

"Why has no one said a vowel yet?" Lloyd asked, amused. "'E!'"

Kai drew a leg on the skeleton. "Nope."

"There's no 'E?'" Zane commented in surprise.

"No 'E.' Nya?"

"'O?'"

Kai painted an 'O' as the second letter of the first word and the first letter of the second word.

"Is there a 'T?'" Jay asked.

"You bet there is!" Kai wrote one 'T' above the fourth space of the first word and another above the fifth space of the last word.

"'A,'" Zane suggested.

Kai gave the skeleton another leg. "Two more lives," he warned.

"That middle word only has two letters," Lloyd pointed out. "It could be 'of.' Is there an 'F?'"

"You got it!" Kai replied. He wrote the letter 'F,' completing the second word.

Nya squinted at the canvas. "What about a 'G?'"

"There's two!" Kai wrote a 'G' as the third and ninth letter of the last word.

"An 'S?'" Jay asked.

Kai drew an arm on the skeleton. "You're gonna kill him," he teased.

"Don't kill him, Jay!" Zane cried jokingly.

"Hey, we've all been contributing to his death!" Jay defended himself. "If anyone's gonna kill him, it's Kai. He made this too hard! I mean, 'OT OF LGTNNG?' What could that possibly be?"

Zane's eyes lit up. "Oh, I've got it!" He exclaimed. "'Mouth of Lightning!'"

"Yep, that's it!" Kai filled in the rest of the letters. "Congrats, Zane! You saved Kruncha!"

"Hey!" The blue ninja yelled. "Not cool!"

The others laughed.

"Oh, man!" Lloyd breathed. "I wish Cole was here for that!"

Zane opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. He turned back to the painting he had been working on.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what is _that_?" Jay asked, leaning over to look at the nindroid's artwork. On the white canvas was painted a piece of chocolate cake. But there was something about the painting that didn't seem quite right. "Zane...I'm sorry, but that is probably the worst depiction of a piece of cake that I've ever seen."

The three other ninja scrambled to get a glimpse for themselves. They stared at the canvas in shock.

Nya spoke up first. "Okay, Zane is good at pretty much everything," she pointed out. "Why does that—and I'm sorry, but—suck? Why does that suck?"

"Yeah," Kai agreed. "That looks like Cole painted it. No offense, Zane."

Lloyd leaned in closer. "Is that a heart?" He asked, squinting at the center of the piece of cake. "Does that say 'C plus Z?'"

"I knew it!" Jay exclaimed, jumping up in excitement. He clasped a hand over his mouth. "I mean, I knew that was a heart," he corrected himself. No matter how annoying the white ninja was being, he wasn't going to out Zane and Cole to the rest of the group.

"Who's 'C?'" Kai pried. His brown eyes widened. "Wait, is it Cole?"

The nindroid froze.

"Whoever it is," Nya said, "that is not something Zane would paint. And Zane has never called Jay 'Zaptrap,' or 'Motor Mouth,' or 'Mouth of Lightning.'" She narrowed her eyes. After a second, she stretched her hand out toward the nindroid and sprayed him with water.

Immediately, Cole's ghostly form flew out of Zane's body.

"Hey!" The master of earth snapped. "Watch it!"

Jay doubled over with laughter. "I KNEW IT!"


	9. Face-Calling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated anything in a while. I've been working overtime to raise money for my cat's vet bills. She's healthy overall, thank God, but she does need her teeth cleaned. Also, I got so bored in quarantine, I was super eager to fill my schedule again. Unfortunately, I greatly overestimated just how many hours at Starbucks I could handle, sometimes doing two shifts—over ten hours—in a single day.
> 
> Anyway, I should hopefully be posting more frequently now that things have begun to settle down. I plan on going from 45 hours down to 25-35 per week, which will be a pretty big difference.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! Even though quarantine is mostly over for me, I do plan on continuing this story for a while.

"Cole!" Lloyd yelled in frustration. "Being possessed _sucks_! Why would you do that to Zane?"

"It's alright, Lloyd," the nindroid assured him. "I agreed to it. Cole and I thought it would be funny to see how you all would react. But it definitely is a strange feeling."

"Wait," Jay said, "could you tell what was going on while you were possessed? Like, could you hear us playing hang-skeleton and see Cole's terrible painting?"

Lloyd folded his arms. "Of course he could!" He told them sternly. "You can sense everything that goes on around you, and you can feel yourself doing whatever the ghost wants you to. It's just about the worst feeling ever, and you shouldn't turn it into a joke."

Cole scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Lloyd," he apologized. "I didn't think about that."

"Meh, I guess it's not a big deal," the green ninja said, calming down. He shrugged. "At least you found a way to entertain yourselves. Plus, if Zane had actually been playing hang-skeleton, he would have figured out the phrase before all of us."

"No!" Jay argued. "He would not have! Like I said, he never calls me 'Mouth of Lightning!'"

"Actually, I knew it after Nya guessed the letter 'O,'" Zane stated. "I don't have to call you 'Mouth of Lightning' to know that Cole and Kai do."

Kai laughed. "Even your parents give you silly names," he pointed out. "They literally named you Jay Walker!"

"Hey, is nobody going to point out the fact that Lloyd's middle name is Montgomery?" The master of lightning asked, annoyed

The green ninja glared at him. "Hey, don't drag me into this. Besides, middle names are kind of irrelevant anyway."

"Sorry, Greenie," Jay said. He sighed. "Gosh, speaking of my parents, I'm really starting to miss them."

"You never see your parents anyway," Cole reminded him. "How is this any different?"

"Don't you know?" Kai asked. "When Jay's told he _can't_ do something, it just makes him want to do it even more."

Lloyd smirked. "Jay, you _can't_ do my laundry!" He teased.

"You're damn right, I can't!" Jay retorted. "I like being able to breathe through my nose, thank you very much. And that's true for everyone, Kai. Nobody likes to be forbidden from doing anything—it's not just me. And anyway, just knowing I'm not allowed to go see my parents stresses me out. This whole pandemic has made me really think about how blessed I am that everyone I love is safe and healthy. The thought of that changing...isn't welcome in my brain. I don't like it."

The black ninja nodded. "I get where you're coming from. My dad's in good health, but he's still older, though he'd never let you believe it. I've been a little worried about him too, and the more I think about him, the more I miss him."

"Well, why don't you two call your parents?" Nya suggested. "They have phones, right?"

" _Have_ phones, yes," Jay replied. "Know how to use them, not so much." He smiled. "But I'll give it a try."

Cole nodded. "Me too." He gasped as a realization hit him. "Oh, man! My dad's gonna flip when he finds out I'm a ghost! I guess I'll just have to keep it to a normal phone call then." He turned to Jay. "But Jay, I'd love to see Ed and Edna try to have a video call with you."

"You and me both," the blue ninja agreed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his mother's number, switching the settings to include video.

Seconds later, a video of Edna popped up on the screen.

"Jay!" The older lady greeted her son. "Oh, it's so good to see ya!"

"Hi, mom!" Jay said happily.

Edna turned away from the screen. "Ed!" She called over her shoulder. "Ed, come here honey! Jay's face-calling us!"

"FaceTiming, ma."

Edna looked back at her phone screen. "I don't see the time anywhere," she said, confused.

All six ninja stifled their laughter.

"Oh, hey there, son!" Ed greeted through the video call. "Edna, can you make him bigger, dear?" He tapped the screen, accidentally flipping the camera.

Jay gasped in surprise as his screen changed from his parents' faces to the floor, where a pair of handcuffs were lying casually. "Um, mom and dad, why do you have a pair of handcuffs?" He asked, his face going red as the other five noticed and became unable to contain their giggles.

"Oh, uh, you weren't supposed to see that, son," Ed replied. "Edna, why is Jay seeing the floor and not us?"

"Because you pushed that button, Ed," she explained. "Here, let's push it again, and see what happens."

"Because _that_ usually works," Cole joked quietly.

The camera flipped around once again to focus on the faces of Jay's parents.

"Oh, there we go!" Edna said excitedly. "See, I told you I was better with technology."

"Only this new junk," Ed retorted. "I'm still better when it comes to using real technology, honey."

"Um, you guys never answered my question," Jay interrupted. "Why in Ninjago do you have handcuffs?!"

"Oh, that's just because your father likes to dress up like a police officer," Edna reassured him.

Ed jumped in. "B-Because people have been trying to rob the junkyard," he added. "Being on lockdown makes people do crazy stuff!"

"I can tell," Kai commented, earning Lloyd's hand slapped over his mouth and causing Cole to double over with laughter.

"Okay, I'm taking this call in my room," the blue ninja announced. He bolted down the hall, leaving the others to erupt in a chorus of laughter.

Cole stood up, having fallen to the ground in a fit of humor. "Okay, that was just perfect!"

"Oh, man," Nya sighed with a smile. "I'm so glad they're gonna be my in-laws!"

Kai snapped his head around to look at her. " _What_?!"

"One day!" Nya added. "Sheesh, Kai! Not anytime soon! Calm down."

The earth ninja pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed up his father, making sure his camera was off. "Hey, dad! It's been a while! How are you?" He wandered off to find a private place for his conversation, not wanting to have the same experience as Jay just had.

The four ninja left in the living room looked at each other, the laughter quickly fading from all of their faces. Lloyd in particular grew noticeably dejected, staring at the ground.

"Oh, Lloyd," Nya sighed, wrapping her arms around the green ninja. "I'm so sorry."

The blonde shook his head. "It—It's alright," he stammered. "We've all lost our parents—it's not just me. Plus, I still have my mom…"

"But our parents died over a decade ago," Kai reminded him. "And Zane thought he lost his dad ages ago as well, before we found him at the lighthouse. It's not like we're not used to it."

Zane nodded. "Yes. You lost your father when he was banished to the Cursed Realm seven months ago, and then again when the Preeminent was destroyed only five weeks ago. This is undoubtedly harder for you than it is for the three of us. You don't have to minimize your struggles just because things could be worse."

Lloyd blinked tears out of his green eyes. "I know...it's just…" No longer able to contain his sadness, he squeezed his eyes shut and hugged Nya back. "I miss my dad," he sobbed.

Kai and Zane joined in on the hug, forming a comforting circle around the master of energy.

"We know, Lloyd," Kai said quietly. "We all do." He let out a wary chuckle. "I never thought I would say that. I remember when Garmadon came to stay with us on the Bounty, when you were captured by the Serpentine. I never gave the guy a break!"

"Well, he did brush his teeth with a knife," Zane pointed out.

"And sunbathe in a thunderstorm," Nya added.

Lloyd giggled. "Yep, that sounds like my dad. Before he was good, I mean."

"Your dad was always good," Kai stated. "Even when he was corrupted by evil, he had a good heart. In the end, his love for you was stronger than his very nature. He fought the Overlord alongside you, and that was even before you saved him."

"He saved me first," Lloyd said. "And after that. He never stopped protecting me."

"And he never will," Nya assured him. "Wherever he is, he's watching over you."

"And taking unimaginable pride in the person you're becoming," Zane added.

The green ninja smiled. "Thanks, guys."


	10. Kai Doesn't Cry

A few hours had passed since Jay and Cole had called their parents. The six ninja were sitting around in the living room on their phones, trying desperately to entertain themselves.

Lloyd sighed, switching his screen off. "Anyone wanna go train?"

"No, you're banned from training for the rest of the week, remember?" Kai shut him down.

Jay looked up from his phone. "Wait, why's Lloyd banned from training?"

"That doesn't matter," Kai replied. "He just is."

The confused master of lightning turned his blue eyes to the green ninja, who shrugged.

"I was doing it too much," he explained. "Kai wants me to rest for a while."

"Oh, okay," Cole said. "I thought you broke the equipment again."

"That was Lloyd?" Jay asked. "I almost got knocked out when the rotating punching bag flew off its handle a few weeks ago." He laughed. "What is it with him and causing my equipment to nearly destroy me?"

Lloyd threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, that first time was when I was eleven! And Sensei told me to!"

"You didn't have to actually do it!" Jay protested.

Lloyd stared at him. "Did you seriously just say I could have disobeyed Sensei?"

"Yeah," the blue ninja stated. "The rest of us do it all the time."

"And look how that turns out," Zane spoke up. "Let's just say, you're lucky it was the nindroid who was flying on his dragon when we lost our powers a few months back."

"Fair enough," Jay conceded.

Cole laughed. "Okay, but did you really have to go for my soup? It took me three days to make that! Three days!"

"Sensei knew that would get to you," Lloyd explained.

"Come on, guys," Nya said. "It's not like you need Lloyd or Sensei meddling in your business to fight with each other. That whole lesson about the power of rumors would have been just as effective if someone had mentioned that ridiculous 'perfect match console' from Borg Tower!"

"True that!" Cole agreed. "Heh, that was a mess."

"A mess that _I_ had to clean up during the Tournament," Lloyd added. "Gosh, it took over a year and to undo all that damage! I can't imagine how different things would've been if you'd never tested out that machine in the first place."

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Nya exclaimed. "I just wanted to confirm what I already knew." She smiled at Jay.

Kai huffed. "Oh yeah? And how'd that work out?" He looked at his sister sternly. "This is why you should never, _ever_ date, Nya."

"Oh, is that why?" Lloyd asked. "I thought it was because she has an overprotective big brother."

Kai reached over and ruffled Lloyd's hair. "Clearly not overprotective enough," he commented. "Sorry again, Big Shot. I'll make sure I'm better at protecting you than I am at protecting my sister. Starting now."

"You do a fine job protecting me, Kai," Lloyd said. "You literally faced your biggest fear and risked your life to save me in the Tomb. Don't sell yourself short."

The red ninja shook his head. "My biggest fear was never water, Lloyd. It was losing you." After holding eye contact with the smiling green ninja, he looked around at the rest of his team. "Losing any of you. As long as I have my team—my _family_ —by my side, I'd swim the sea if I had to."

"Aww, Kai!" Cole exclaimed. "You're gonna make me cry!"

"I can't imagine crying because of anything Kai said," Jay muttered. He thought for a moment. "Does Kai even cry? Is that possible?"

"What?" Kai snapped his gaze to the master of lightning. "What do you mean, 'is that even possible?' What, do you think my element will just evaporate my tears before they can leave my eyes or something?" He snorted. "Just because I don't cry as much as you, doesn't mean I _can't_."

"Hey, I do not cry that much!" Jay said defensively. "I'm just saying, I've never seen you cry."

"I have," Nya said. "But then again, I've known him since he was two, so it's kinda hard to know someone for twenty years without ever seeing them cry."

"I've seen him cry," Cole piped up. "After we first found out Morro possessed Lloyd. We had set up camp in the woods after Morro chased us down and got the staff. After everyone but the two of us had gone to sleep, I heard him crying." He looked up at the red ninja. "Can I share this?"

Kai nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"I went over to ask him what was up," Cole continued. "He said he felt like he'd failed Lloyd. He promised to watch over him, and later that same day, he was taken over by a ghost from the Cursed Realm."

"I felt awful," Kai added. "It hadn't even been a day since I had made that promise to Lloyd, and I had already failed to keep it. And that was the most important promise I ever made. Not only was my friend being used as a weapon against our team, but on top of that, it was all because I couldn't protect him." He looked up at Lloyd. "I'm so sorry."

Lloyd wrapped his arms around Kai, hugging him as tightly as he possibly could. "Kai, stop apologizing! You did everything you could." He pulled back and stared into Kai's eyes. "You keep forgetting the part where you risked your life to save mine."

"Oh...right…" Kai stammered. "I guess I did do that much."

"Which is all you had to do," Lloyd said. "You kept your promise in the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, and because of you, I'm still here." He hugged Kai again, who hugged him back with a sigh of relief.

"Aww!" Nya cooed. "You two are so sweet! If only the pair of you would start dating each other, then our team would be made up of three couples!"

Cole nearly jumped out of his transparent body. "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" He asked with a nervous glance at Zane.

Lloyd brought the group's attention back to Nya's first comment, knowing the masters of earth and ice would speak on the matter when they were ready, and not wanting to push them to do so too soon. "Maybe if Kai wasn't dating Skylor," he stated.

"What do you mean, 'maybe'?" Kai asked, a mischievous glint in his dark brown eyes. "If I wasn't dating Skylor, I could totally see myself with Lloyd!"

The green ninja blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

Kai shrugged. "I mean, I don't see why not. The best relationships are built on a solid friendship, and while I usually go for girls, gender isn't something I'm particularly concerned about."

"Wait, you're bi?" Cole asked, simultaneously surprised and relieved.

"I prefer the term pan, actually," Kai replied. "But yeah, I like girls and guys, so bi fits too."

"What's the difference?" Jay wondered.

Kai smiled. "I'm glad you asked! Not many people know, and they can even mean different things to different people. The way I see it, the term 'bisexual' means you're attracted to two or more genders—usually referring to the same gender and other genders, but not always—while 'pansexual' means you can be attracted to anyone, regardless of their gender. They're very similar, but some people who are pan describe themselves as being 'gender-blind,' where gender doesn't play much of a part in their attraction, whereas bi people are more likely to find different traits attractive in different genders. I toggle between the two labels, but 'bisexual' is often seen as excluding nonbinary people—which isn't the case, but it's an unfortunate stigma. I just don't really care that much about gender, so pan seems to fit me a little better. Someone who has a preference for a certain gender is more likely to identify as bi, because they are more attracted to typically gendered traits than a pan person would be."

"Huh," Jay said. "Interesting. I never knew that."

"I think I'm bi," Lloyd announced. "I've liked all kinds of people before, but I feel most attracted to guys. I definitely notice gender, but it doesn't stop me from being attracted to a person. Does that sound right?"

The red ninja nodded. "Basically, yeah. That sounds more like bi than pan to me."

"Wow," Nya breathed. "You learn something new every day! I'm straight, but I have questioned my sexuality in the past.

Jay's eyes widened. "Hey, I know what we can do to stay entertained: let's play Never Have I Ever!"

"No, we are _not_ doing that!" Cole protested.

"You got any better ideas?" Jay asked. When the earth ninja didn't respond, he continued. "Never have I ever seen Kai cry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I explained that well! Not a whole lot of people know what pan means, but I know some people who are. I myself identify as bi.
> 
> Surprisingly enough, I'm actually managing to write a story without (romantic) Greenflame! But a lil bit slips out every now and then XD
> 
> I hope you all have an amazing week! Stay safe and healthy! :)


	11. Never Have I Ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, we hit 1000 views!!! Thank you all for reading! :)

“I’m serious, guys,” Jay said. “Never have I ever seen Kai cry. Nya and Cole, put a finger down!”

The water and earth ninjas did as they were instructed. 

“Well, I have, obviously,” Kai pointed out. He put one of his fingers down as well.

The green ninja seemed lost in thought. “Hmmm…” he mumbled. “I feel like I have. I can’t think of a specific time, but I know I’ve seen him cry at some point.” He shrugged. “I’ll just say I have.”

“Do you mean cry from sadness?” Zane asked Jay. “Because I do not recall seeing Kai cry because he was sad. I have, however, witnessed him whining when he didn’t get his way.”

“Hey!” Kai snapped.

“See, that’s a prime example!” Jay said. “And I mean actually cry, Zane. We’ve all seen Kai whine. We just did!”

Kai huffed. “Well, never have  _ I  _ ever kissed my pillow!” He shot the master of lightning a pointed glare.

“Are we  _ still _ talking about that?” Jay asked incredulously. “Okay, yeah, I did that a few times. But I was, like, fourteen!”

Lloyd laughed. “You should know by now that with this team it doesn’t matter how long ago you did something incriminating, just that you did it in the first place.” He smirked at the blue ninja. “But it’s okay—I’ve done it too.” He put his second finger down.

“Wait, you have?” Kai queried, a look of surprise falling over his dark features.

The blonde shrugged. “I went through puberty in, like, ten seconds!” He said defensively. “Those feelings just came out of nowhere. I needed  _ some  _ sort of an outlet!”

Kai stared at him. “ _ That’s  _ how you…?” He shook his head. “Nevermind. I, for one, have never kissed a pillow. I’ve...done other things...but not that.”

Cole raised an eyebrow. “You’ve done other things with pillows?” He teased.

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Kai exclaimed. “I’ve done other things with...No, I’m  _ not _ talking about this with you guys.”

“I approve of that decision, Kai,” Nya told her brother. “I’ve never kissed a pillow. I had honestly never even thought about kissing until I met Jay.”

The blue ninja gazed at her lovingly as Kai cleared his throat.

“Should’ve kept it that way,” he scoffed. 

“I have never kissed a pillow,” Zane chimed in. “I am similar to you, Nya. I never thought about kissing anyone until I met…” He trailed off as his eyes drifted to the black ninja. He shook his head frantically to clear it. “P-Pixal!” He finished. “Until I met Pixal.”

Cole’s dark brown eyes drifted to the floor. He sighed in disappointment, but shook himself out of it just as quickly as the master of ice had. “I kissed a few pillows in my day,” he admitted, not looking up.

“ _ WHAT? _ !” Jay yelped. “You have? How–why have you spent the past four years making fun of me for doing that  _ WHEN YOU’VE DONE IT TOO _ ?”

Cole shrugged. “Because I knew your secret and you didn’t know mine?” He suggested. “I dunno. I just like messing with you I guess.”

Jay put his hands on his hips. “Well, now  _ I’m _ gonna use that to mess with  _ you _ !” He warned. 

“Go for it,” Cole invited him. “The thing is, I don’t care. So you’ll never get to me that way.”

“I don’t care either!” Jay lied. He sighed. “I’ll even own up to it. I  _ have _ kissed pillows in the past. Like, seven years in the past. And I. Don’t. Care.”

Kai chuckled. “Sure ya don’t.”

“Okay, my turn!” Cole announced. “Never have I ever...been in a relationship.”

“What?!” Kai asked. “You’ve never been in a relationship? How is that even possible? You’re... _ Cole _ !”

Zane looked over at him with a puzzled expression. “Yes, that does surprise me, too. You are amazing, Cole. I would imagine you could be with absolutely anyone you wanted.”

The earth ninja blushed, scratching the back of his head. “Th-Thanks, Zane,” he sputtered. “But not...anyone.”

“Well, everyone knows I have,” Kai pointed out. “I’m with Skylor right now.”

“I don’t think talking on the phone once a week constitutes a relationship,” Jay argued. “Are you guys even official?”

“We’re official!” Kai exclaimed. “I mean, we’ve never said...we’re not... _ officially _ official. But we’re dating. Basically.” He put a finger down. “Plus, I’ve had, like, four other girlfriends in the past.”

“Oh, have you now?” Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced over at Nya, who shook her head. Jay shrugged and put his second finger down. “I’m in a relationship, too. Obviously.”

“Same here,” Nya said, with a glance at Jay. “Obviously.”

Zane tilted his head. “I am not sure whether I have,” he admitted. “Pixal and I sort of were, but we never made it ‘official,’ as Kai said.”

Kai shrugged. “You two were a thing. I’d say it counts.” He turned to the green ninja. “What about you Lloyd?”

The blonde blushed. “I actually kind of have,” he announced, trying not to reveal his amused smile.

“Wait, really?” Kai asked, floored. “When? Where? With who?”

“Easy there, tiger,” Jay teased. “We already know you’ve got a thing for him. You don’t need to make it  _ too _ obvious.”

Kai glared at him. “ _ Would _ have a thing for him,” he corrected. “If I wasn’t with Skylor.”

Lloyd was no longer able to restrict his laughter. “You guys are not gonna believe this!”

“Spill!” Jay ordered excitedly.

The master of energy looked down at his hands, embarrassed. “At Darkley’s.”

Nya, Jay, and Kai gasped in unison.

“You dated someone at Darkley’s?” Kai repeated.

Lloyd blushed even harder. “I told you you wouldn’t believe it.”

“Okay, you can’t just drop that bombshell and not elaborate,” Jay said in protest. “Who’d you date? Was it another one of the boys?”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Of course it was,” he said. “What, do you think he dated a teacher? And there are no girls at Darkley’s.” He turned back to Lloyd. “Right?”

“Yep,” Lloyd replied. “It is Darkley’s Boarding School for Bad  _ Boys _ .” He looked away again. “And it was…” He giggled. “It was Brad.”

“BRAD?!” Kai nearly yelled. “That little shit?”

“Hey, he’s not that bad!” Lloyd said in defense. “He was the only one there who was ever nice to me. At first, I thought it was because he wanted to get in good with my dad. He tried to keep his kindness on the down-low, but whenever he got caught, that was always his excuse,” he explained. “Turns out, he actually had a crush on me, and we grew to really like each other. We were only eight or nine, so all we really did was hold hands and kiss on the cheek and stuff. But that’s the closest I’ve ever been to being in a relationship.”

Zane smiled. “That is probably the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Hey, don’t call me cute!” Lloyd protested, picking up a pillow and tossing it at the white ninja playfully.

Zane stared at the pillow. “I believe you meant to throw this at Jay,” he said jokingly. He passed the pillow to the master of lightning. “Pucker up!”

Cole burst out laughing. “Well, looks like someone turned his funny switch on!” His eyes met Zane’s icy blue ones for a brief moment. He sighed. “Aw, man!” He groaned. “So I’m the only one who’s never dated anyone?”

“Look on the bright side,” Kai said. “At least you’re the only one who didn’t lose any points from that round.”

Zane put a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cole,” he reassured him. “You will find somebody when the time is right.”

Cole smiled, trying to hide the fact that a blush was starting to creep across his cheeks once again. “Thanks,” he said. “That means...a lot to me, Zane.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed that! I was particularly amused by the whole Lloyd and Brad thing XD
> 
> This chapter was so much fun to write! I'm splitting the game into two chapters, just cause I wrote so much and only a few rounds have gone by.
> 
> And for those of you who are eagerly awaiting more Glacier action, we're getting there soon, I promise! They can't be subtle forever... Not that they're subtle to begin with...


	12. What Friends are For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this story is still going!
> 
> So sorry for the ridiculous hiatus—I got super busy with a full courseload of school. But I'm almost done with the quarter, so I should be getting updates out more consistently.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story! Enjoy chapter twelve!

“Who’s winning?” Kai asked.

The group sans Zane looked instinctively at the white ninja who, to none of their surprise, still had four of his fingers up. 

“Well, we all know who’s losing!” Lloyd laughed and raised his hand, on which all but two fingers were lowered. 

“Dang, Lloyd!” Jay teased. “Three fingers down in three rounds? What  _ haven’t _ you done?”

The blonde thought for a second. “Never have I ever...been caught drinking!”

Kai laughed. “Probably less than I should have,” he remarked. “When I was drinking the most, I didn’t have anyone around to get me in trouble for it. Nya did call me out quite a few times, though, and even though I’m legally allowed to drink now, Sensei still gives me shit for it.” He blinked. “Wait, did you say you’ve never been  _ caught _ drinking? Does that mean you’ve drunk without getting caught?”

The green ninja gave him a mischievous smirk. “Maybe…”

“How would you even get alcohol?” Cole asked. “Even with your updated ID, you’re still under twenty-one.”

Lloyd shrugged. “That’s what friends are for,” he joked, giggling. 

“That is  _ not _ what friends are for!” Kai argued. 

“You’re right,” Nya said. “It’s what older brothers are for.” She put a finger down.

“Kai!” Cole snapped. “You gave alcohol to your little sister?”

“Of course not!” The red ninja exclaimed. “She found my stash—”

Lloyd interrupted him. “You have a stash? Where is it?”

Kai glared at him. “Oh yeah, like I’ll ever tell you, you minor!”

“I’m not a minor.”

“You are when it comes to drinking.”

Lloyd slumped in his seat, folding his arms. “Five months…” He muttered, pouting. 

Kai continued his explanation. “Back when we worked at Four Weapons, Nya found a bottle of vodka that I had bought with my fake ID. I think she was around fourteen or fifteen, so not too long before Sensei found us. I gave her crap for it, but not nearly as much as she gave me.”

“That was my whole point,” Nya added. “I didn’t know all that much about alcohol, but I knew that it wasn’t a healthy coping mechanism. I tried to get Kai to stop, and when he didn’t listen, I let him catch me drinking so he could see how upsetting it was.”

“Wait, you  _ let _ me catch you?” Kai clarified, shocked. 

The water ninja nodded. “Yep. And it worked! You mostly stopped after that.”

Kai huffed. “Mostly.” He turned back to Lloyd. “I still wanna know what ‘friends’ you were referring to,” he told him sternly.

“Like I’ll ever tell,” Lloyd teased, arms still folded. “Snitches get stitches.”

Kai rolled his eyes before fixing them on Jay. “My money’s on Bluebell over there.”

Jay threw his arms up in defense. “Hey, don’t look at me! It was probably someone at Darkley’s. I’ll bet those kids have an entire basement filled with booze.”

The masters of energy and earth made eye contact as they gave each other a sly smile.

“But anyway,” the blue ninja continued, “I have been caught drinking. By my parents.” He rolled his eyes. “But at least  _ they _ didn’t catch  _ me _ with a pair of handcuffs on my floor!”

“I spent a few weeks at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts before I left to become a ninja,” Cole spoke up. “Let me just say, dancers and theatre kids know how to party!” He put another finger down. 

“I bet Zane’s never even had a taste of alcohol,” Jay guessed. “Does it even affect nindroids?”

The titanium ninja shook his head. “You are correct—I’ve never tried it, so I don’t know whether it will affect me in the same way it does the rest of you.”

Kai smirked. “Now  _ that’s _ an idea for something to do in quarantine!”

“Don’t you dare,” Nya warned.

“Oh, I will dare,” her brother retaliated.

She folded her arms. “Never have I ever spent more than one hundred coin a month on hair products!”

Kai glared at her. He lowered his fourth finger, leaving only the middle one up, jabbing it pointedly toward his little sister.

The others looked around the room, none of them sympathizing with the spiky-haired red ninja.

“Your turn, Zane,” Cole said. “I’ll bet you can get all of us in one go!”

“Never have I ever,” Zane began. A wide smile spread across his face. “Been human!”

Each of the other five either face-palmed, groaned, let out an “Oh, come on!” or some combination of the three. All five of them put another finger down.

“I knew you’d get us!” Cole exclaimed. “Good one, Zane!”

Lloyd glanced quickly at each of his friends’ hands before pointing to the only person who had no fingers remaining upright. “Kai lost!” 

“Ooh, Kai lost!” The red ninja repeated in a mocking tone. “Yeah, well at least I can drink!”

Lloyd made a face, crossing his arms once again as he did so. 

“Speaking of drinking,” Jay said, “who wants to play a drinking game sometime this week?”

“Not Lloyd,” Kai scoffed, his words met with another glare from the still-underage green ninja.

Nya laughed. “That’s okay. Lloyd can just drink some of Sensei’s tea. I’m sure he’s got at least some kind that will make him feel all woozy and giddy.”

“Better yet, Cole could make him something nasty. I’ll bet that’d do the job just fine!” Jay added. 

“Maybe you should drink that, too, Zaptrap,” the earth ninja retorted. “After all, you still act like you’re fifteen. And I hate to be a party pooper, but how in the Cursed Realm are we gonna get alcohol? We’re quarantined!”

Zane blinked. “Party...pooper?”

His confused utterance fell on deaf ears as all eyes turned to Kai.

“What are you looking at me for?” The red ninja asked incredulously. He sighed. “Fine. I’ll share some of my stash. But not with Lloyd.”

The blonde rolled his eyes and pouted once again. His phone buzzed, and he checked it to see a message from Cole.

_ Cole: Don’t worry. I gotcha buddy ;) _


End file.
